1. Field of the Invention
The device of this invention resides in the area of devices for the cutting of floor tiles and more particularly relates to a device for the heating and scoring of vinyl tiles to a particular shape for later installation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been appreciated by installers of floor tiles that when floor tiles are positioned along the outer perimeter of a floor where the tiles meet the walls, the individual edge tiles must often be cut down in size. Further the arrangement of the tiles installed within the central area of the floor in some cases does not align itself perfectly to the surrounding walls so that the outer edge tiles can be non-rectangular in shape due to the angles of the walls to the central layout of the floor tiles. The fact that outer floor edge tiles along the outer perimeter of the floor must be cut to fit has been addressed by devices utilized for the measurement of these tiles. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,619,173 to Crane a device is disclosed having a pair of rods extending therefrom moving an attached flange which guides the tile under a cutter and adjusts the positioning of the tile to be cut at the appropriate angle to the wall, thereby enabling the tile to be cut to such size and alignment so as to fit in its designated space. A similar device to the Crane device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,723 to Fortin, being a tile-cutting device with gauge arms which extend to the wall, which arms also help space a cutter above a tile for the proper size cut. Both of these prior art patents operate on ceramic-type tiles, and it should be noted that the device of this invention is specifically designed to operate on vinyl tiles which have unique cutting requirements in that vinyl tiles cannot be easily cut unless they are first heated. Currently to successfully cut vinyl tile or to bend it in any way, the tile must be first heated with a torch which heating is dangerous, inconvenient and time-consuming.